Echizen Twins
by HoshixXxHikari080
Summary: There is no Prince of Tennis or Princess of Tennis. There ARE, however, two new students under the surname of Echizen in Japan after the mysterious quitting of Ryoma Echizen. This is their story. Rated T to be safe. Fem!Ryoma and OC included.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I'm baaack~ Note: Ryoka is Ryoma and Ryoko is the OC, for obvious reasons. I would've just stuck with Ryoma, but that would've caused some issues. This is the best you got, so bear with me. I also wouldn't be surprised if you are confused at the end of this chapter. Though, it's up to you whether this is confusing or not.

* * *

"_**Ryoma Echizen is at the top! Conquering seven consecutive US tournaments, not to mention the Grand Slam! Will he overcome his father, Nanjiroh Echizen? I mean, rumors have it—"**_

-X-

"What?"

"We want to stop playing tennis."

-X-

"**Welcome back to Good Morning America. We have a **_**very**_** special guest with us today, Nanjiroh Echizen!"**

"**So tell us,"** The host turned his head to gaze at the retired tennis player, **"It's not often that we hear from you. What reason brought you to us today?"**

Nanjiroh cleared his throat, **"Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my son, Ryoma Echizen, has quit tennis."**

-X-

The broadcast brought out a large amount of chaos and commotion. Ryoma Echizen was the nation's pride, and without him… It was just a repeat of his father.

Anyway, as was mentioned above, the segment was so significant, it was broadcasted internationally. Japan was devastated in itself, as were the gorgeous tennis players residing in said nation (that our heroines have yet to meet), _'The Prince of Tennis _QUIT_!?'_

-X-

A short, petite girl clad in the black uniform of Seishun Gakuen, walked down the empty hallway with silent footsteps. They paused in front of a door, a sign hanging above it stating, 'Class 1-1.' The usual indifferent look on her face, she knocked on the door. The sound of the teacher speaking on the other side of the barrier grew fainter before the door slid open unexpectedly.

The girl was unfazed as the teacher greeted her before he stepped aside and she entered the classroom, gazing in front of her with a piercing, cold stare as the door shut. Her new teacher cleared his throat, though it was already silent and everyone's attention was on the two to begin with, "Class, let's welcome the new student. If you would introduce yourself."

She remained impassive, holding no one's gaze longer for a second. "Echizen Ryoka."

Not even a day later, the same school, the same class received another new student. As the door slid open for the second time, the teacher could not hold back his surprise as he stepped aside to let them in.

The class more or less had the same reaction; gasps were echoed around the room before the teacher sighed. "Please introduce yourself."

"Echizen Ryoko."

-X-

A week has now passed. The whole freshmen hall gossiped about the two new students. Boys talked about their angelic features and possible dating strategies while the girls frowned at the two's coldness. No one made a move to befriend the two. Everyone learned their lesson quickly; the two had no interest in making friends. Despite this, there were still a few students who persevered and there were still the second- and third-years that had their chance.

And because of this coldness, it continued to remain a mystery on whether the two were relatives. Although it would be reasonable to agree: the two always remained close during school hours and were always, and did everything, together, from what everyone else noticed; despite that Echizen was a somewhat common last name, they did share the surname and arrived as new students in a considerably minute amount of time; the two only talked freely only to each other, though even then there were only few words.

* * *

"We're back," The twins chorused as they entered the household, slipping off their shoes as they did so.

"Welcome back!" Rinko greeted as she popped her head in from the kitchen. Nanako then appeared with a washcloth in her hands, as she paused and greeted the two as well with a smile on her face.

Nodding wordlessly, the two headed into the large room that they occupied; an extremely large room, considering it held doubles of everything: beds, desks, cabinets, bedside tables, and more. Dropping their bags at their respective desks, they mimicked each other's actions, taking out the homework and grabbing the pencils. Silently, the two worked on their homework, both intelligent enough to get everything done and they didn't have to question each other.

Both paused as they heard a door slam open from downstairs. There was boisterous laughter and panting and the two closed their eyes and sighed. Closing their books, they packed up; they were done anyway. The noise ceased but still remained at a high volume and it meant, without a doubt that the twins' older brother and father had came back in.

Ryoko left the room first, Ryoka after her. There was a glance and a barely audible nod – at least to others, the twins could see just fine – before they entered the room across from the one they just left. Ryoko grabbed a large case and a stand before leaving the room and Ryoka sighed to herself when the door shut.

She grabbed the smaller case and a stand before sitting down at the door. Piecing together the expensive flute, she rummaged through her binders to find suitable pieces of music she was struggling with. Running through plenty of scales at the tempo of one-hundred twenty, her body adjusted quickly as it remembered the practice beforehand.

Her sister was practicing more or less the same way, her head tilted slightly as the string instrument was placed delicately under her chin, the bow positioned at an angle to get the full value of the note. Although the tempo of one-hundred twenty was a bit much, she remained confident of her abilities.

The rest of the day went by quickly; the twins locked themselves in their separate rooms and downstairs, the table was silent. Four people were seated with plates of food in front of them. They waited for a few more minutes, before Nanjiroh picked up his chopsticks and started eating the meal. Nanako glanced worriedly at her aunt for a second, before the other three started their meals as well.

Rinko stared at the two empty seats with worry; before, the two would never skip out on a meal. Despite being female, they ate like men and had bottomless pits for stomachs. And the mother knew that that didn't change. Though nowadays, Ryoka and Ryoko locked themselves in separate rooms. When dinner was served, Rinko and Nanako would go and call to the girls, knocking on the doors.

However, the music they played never stopped, and the two older women knew it was a hopeless cause. It had only been a week since the family had moved back to Japan; unfortunately, ever since the two girls changed drastically.

Nanjiroh acted as if nothing changed, and was very nonchalant on the matter, and Ryoga more or less took the same reaction as his father. Although, Rinko knew that they were worried as well; they just didn't acknowledge the fact very well.

The music finally stopped, she realized, as she broke out of her reverie. There was an echo of a door opening, closing, and opening again. As everyone finished out their plate – no one was in a rush – the mother reassured her niece as she walked up the steps of the staircase. There was no light emitting from underneath the doors; that was the first thing she noticed. Immediately, she knocked softly on their bedroom door, only to hear nothing in return. Opening the door with a small frown, her eyes softened at the pitch-dark room. She could make out the two lumps under the covers of the separate beds.

Sighing to herself, she shut the door and headed downstairs. Unbeknownst to everyone, the closet door was cracked open just the slightest, where the untouched tennis racquets leaned against the wall.

* * *

Words: 1,253

**A/N:** And that is the beginning of my rewrite of Echizen Twins. More interaction, detail, speech, and more in length will be provided in the next chapters that are about to come, since this was only the prologue. It might be confusing, and this is taking a different plot than my first try of Echizen Twins. Please review! And pairings… are half undecided. If you suggest someone, then I might take them into consideration…


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** …ohmigosh, I seriously don't deserve you all. I'm sure everyone's been waiting for this story to update, which sadly, has been a _longggg_ time since. Special thanks to my reviewers, who I am going to cry to, because of their loving support! You deserve ice cream!

While I'm not going to respond to everyone's review, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and favorite and alerted this story.  
**Kris 77 – **Can you clarify who you want them to be paired up with? As in, which twin with which regular?  
**lovelydasom** – Any suggestions for Ryoko? Don't leave her behind~ :)

Also, if you have ideas for this story, please let me know! I've only forced myself to update because of all the love from my readers, and the fact that I feel bad in letting them down because I continuously bring the story down and rewrite it. Instead, I'm going to force myself to write; though, I do need some ideas. Thanks, and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter One: Lost Addiction**

What most didn't understand, Ryoko mused, was the term _addiction._

Those who were addicted to video games?

Absolutely not; it was just an obsession, a seclusion to another world where one could be someone else, have powers they couldn't have otherwise, meet and connect with people they couldn't otherwise.

Addiction.

It was a negative term, really.

People addicted to nicotine, alcohol, other substances and drugs, illegal or not – their lives were all ruined. If it didn't end in death, it ended in an extremely slow recovery that had one suffering for months, years.

Addiction.

Could it be used positively? Was hers good or bad?

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

It was strange.

After all the twins' attempts, five people had stuck through it all. The group of friends: the obnoxious Satoshi Horio, the timid Kato Kachiro, the optimistic Katsuo Mizuno, the shy Sakuno Ryuuzaki, and the boisterous Tomoka Osakada.

Tomoka and Horio had annoyingly persisted, dragging their friends into the schemes in order to befriend the newcomers, and to which, after about a week, Ryoka and Ryoka finally gave in.

It was strange, because they were stubborn as well, and where had their determination gone? Perhaps…

And while the two considered the five as… friends, at times, there was a limit to how much they could handle from them (mainly Horio and Tomoka, the others were neutral).

"Uwah! That looks good!" Tomoka commented with a grin, staring at the lunch the twins had in their hands.

Sakuno made a noise of agreement, "W-who made it?"

"Okaa-san—" Ryoka replied, taking a bite into her onigiri.

"—and Nanako-nee-chan," Ryoko murmured, biting into the teriyaki chicken.

"She's our cousin," The elder twin added, slapping at Horio's mischievous hand harshly; the brunette clutched at his hand, moaning in pain.

"Can I try a piece?" Tomoka inquired, to which the twins consented at her nice request, even sharing with the three neutral ones. At Horio's gaping and loud complaints, Tomoka mocked angrily, "That's what you get for trying to steal!"

And amidst of arguing with the female, Horio begged, "Not fair Echizens! Give me a piece!"

"Yadda," The two immediately retorted, turning away for added effect in order to finish eating in piece.

Horio continued to plead the rest of the lunch period, to which the twins promptly ignored and ate the rest of their lunch quickly. The bell then rang, leaving to everyone to pack up their lunch boxes, and leaving a complaining Horio about not having time to eat lunch.

(Now whose fault was that?)

This led to _another_ fight between Tomoka and him. Everyone else sighed together.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

Lunch time approached again the next day. The two twins stood, holding their bento boxes in their hands, as they waited impatiently for their friends to _hurry the hell up_.

They were hungry, dang it.

"It's such a beautiful day today! Let's eat on the roof!" Tomoka suggested with a large grin, and everyone more or less agreed; more or less, because the twins couldn't have cared less and Horio declined, saying it was too hot, but his opinion didn't matter.

Chattering lightly, the seven approached the rooftop. However, upon opening the door, they saw that it was already occupied. The students within – all of which were older than them – settled into a silence, staring back at the freshman.

"Ah! It's—" Horio started, before the other two of the freshmen trio interrupted, "Ah, we're sorry for the intrusion. We'll go now."

"There's plenty of room for all of us. It's fine," A taller senpai with a warm smile on his lips and two bangs in front urged, and with an exchange of glances, the seven entered, heading to the other side of the roof. "Please excuse us."

As they settled, life steadily went on as the five freshman stared curiously at the twins.

"…What?" They chorused, staring back blankly.

"We want to see what lunch you have today!"

The twins blinked owlishly, cocking their heads to the side. "Eh?"

The older students, who had been secretly listening in to their conversation blinked at the action. _'…Cute!'_

A tall spiky-haired boy with violet eyes perked at the food as the twins opened their bentos; he drooled.

"Hey, what kind of lunch is that?" He inquired, scooting closer to the two, despite his friends' warnings.

"Who are you?" They stared blankly, observing the taller boy, and he grinned, "I'm Takeshi Momoshiro. You can call me Momo-chan-senpai."

The pair exchanged glances, both amused, as they turned back to their lunches. "Not interested."

"Oi…" Momo twitched slightly, and Horio gasped rather exaggeratedly.

"Echizens! Don't you know who they are? They're the tennis Regulars! Extremely popular and talented in tennis! They're the best in the school! And I, with my two years of experience," At this point, the two tuned out their friend's rant, replying with another, "Not interested."

'_Rude!'_

"C'mon, at least trade me. Is that ootoro?" Momo gawked.

"Yadda!"

The twins refused, bringing their lunches closer to themselves. Darn, with all of the racquet going on and everyone asking for their food, they would never be able to eat in peace.

In the end, the two gave in to his persistent begging (and the fact he bribed them with buying them burgers. Too bad Momo didn't know they had bottomless pits for stomachs!)

…They were going soft.

With that, they were introduced to the rest of the Regulars, who were an odd bunch.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"Momo-senpai!" The twins chorused, "You owe us burgers!"

"Yeah, yeah," The taller boy waved his hand dismissively, "I'll buy them for you."

What harm was buying two burgers? Granted, they weren't going into _his_ stomach, but it wasn't a completely lost cause! After all, he did have some of that yummy, delicious ootoro…

At the burger shop, however, everyone was in for a astonishing surprise.

"Eto, we'll take six hamburgers, two large fries, and two large strawberry milkshakes please," Ryoko murmured.

Ryoka pointed to their senpai. "He's paying."

Momo gawked. "Hey, what? I thought I was buying you one burger each!"

"Maa, you never said the amount," Ryoka waved it off dismissively, and Momo, sulking, paid.

"Um, Ryoka-chan, Ryoko-chan," Tomoka started, eying the load warily, "Can you… really EAT all that?"

"Of course," Ryoka stated matter-of-factly and Ryoko added. "Mada mada dane~"

"Jeez," Momo groaned, as everyone moved to sit down, "If I knew you guys could eat that much, I wouldn't have offered. You can eat about half of much as I can!"

The twins eyes glinted dangerously, "Is that a challenge?"

"Ii data." Pencil meet paper.

"Momo, perhaps you shouldn't offer before your wallet really empties out," Fuji suggested, an amused smile playing on his lips.

The twins now had a favorite senpai, to which they happily bugged him for more burgers. Filled up with happiness and warmth, they greeted everyone before heading home.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

A lost addiction…

Never did Ryoko believe they would be warped back into the tennis world so quickly.

After all, while… giving up… the sport, all their new friends and senpai-tachi was related to tennis somehow.

It was painful.

What most didn't understand, Ryoko mused, was the term _addiction._

The twins' addiction, their loss, was of course tennis. While there was nothing serious about their "withdrawal symptoms," they missed the sport.

They missed the thrill of the tennis racquet meeting the tennis ball.

They missed the pumping adrenaline in their veins.

They missed the feel of the breeze kissing their face and rushing through their hair.

They missed the sweat building up along with the friendly tension when the referee announced the score.

They missed it all.

And while they had refused to go back…

Perhaps Fate won't let them have a choice.

* * *

**A/N:** Yay for filler chapter! :D –is shot-

Sorry for the crappiness! I'll get better! –cries-

Please **read** the **authoress' note** at the **beginning of the chapter.** EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Other than which, please review!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** …D: You guys. Are totally. Just frickin' awesome. –sobs-

**Important Announcements:** After some thought and reading a few of the reviews I've received, it has come to my attention that I completely. Screwed. Up. Seriously. The storyline and timeline clash _completely_ and it just doesn't make sense.

Now what does this entail? Am I taking the story down?

Um, no. I've gotten this far (not really), and I've already taken the story down multiple times. So, this is my final thought. _Demoncat13_ had my attention with her questions on who will be on the tennis team and what uniform are the twins wearing because I didn't mention it in the story. _Chillybean_ ties in with her suggestion that I follow the canon plot.

As much as I am grateful for the suggestion, that simply won't do. First of all, I'm not following the plot, simply because I have different ideas. As for the twins' placement in the team: since tennis is kept away from them, they're not going to be in it. So, basically, this is kinda AU-ish.

Then I had the thought to bump them up to high school age, which completely doesn't follow Konomi's plot, since Tezuka leaves to Germany, right? (I'm not caught up with this.) High school ages would also be more appropriate for romance, and I figured that's perfectly fine. However, I just kinda screwed it up what with the Echizens being new students; Ryoma Echizen would've had to "disappear" middle school age rather than high school (to somewhat follow Konomi's plot.)

So, the final decision is: Everyone will be bumped up to high school age. Just ignore my little mishap with the chapter, I'm not going back to change it. And demoncat13-san, you'll see shortly how I incorporate tennis back into Ryoko and Ryoka-chan's lives, don't worry.

On to the story! (I tried creating an extra long chapter to make up for my absence and this long author's note! :D)

* * *

**Chapter Two – Cute Surprises!**

"Karupin!" Ryoka hollered after their cat, rushing out the door with untied laces and her violin case.

"Ah, wait!" Ryoko rushed after her sister, a piece of toast in her mouth, a large ote bag strapped over one shoulder and a slip of paper in her hand. Her other one was frustratingly tugging on her shoes as she left the house.

"Bye!"

"Karupin! Ryoka!" Ryoko called, jogging after the two.

Their cat had escaped the house. Again. While it was the first time to happen while in the eastern country, the furry creature had left plenty of times in California. Especially with their constant absence in the past years, Karupin must have gotten bored a lot, and thus, ran away often.

After running down the street and weaving through people, Ryoka caught up with her pet, capturing the feline in her arms. With a slight frown, she turned as her sister caught up, panting.

"Jeez," She coughed slightly, "Ew. I think I swallowed a bug or something."

Ryoka shook her head at her sister's antics and handed the cat over; Ryoko proceeded to place the mewling feline in her tote bag. "Behave, Karupin," She chimed.

Only being a few yards away from the music store, Ryoka adjusted her grip, and the two proceeded to their trip. Ryoka was having her violin re-stringed, while Ryoko was fixing up her flute and buying a new one. The two also were to look at any pianos; while their digital one was advanced, they needed the real thing.

Upon entering the store, the two were the only customers there. The cashier girl greeted the two cheerfully, and Ryoka absentmindedly played with Karupin as Ryoko did her thing.

"No, I don't want the standard one that _looks_ professional. I don't care if it's open-holed," Ryoko frowned slightly at the ditzy girl.

"This one, miss, has a sterling silver headjoint, and it's at 381."

"Ah, no, mine is at 371. I need one at least in the 400 range; preferably open-holed with the B-flat foot."

"Let's see… This one is at 461," She offered, taking Ryoko's older one. "And this needs to be fixed, right? Some of the screws went loose?"

She nodded, and the girl smiled, "Alright then. You can try out how that feels and I'll return this to you shortly."

Ryoko rolled her eyes slightly as she head towards the back, grabbing the case on her way as Ryoka moved towards the countertop, setting her violin on top. Seconds later, the faint sound of a chromatic scale soothed her ears, as she smiled inwardly.

As the girl came back, Ryoka paid no attention to the bell above the door tinkling, signaling someone else had entered the store. A pair of footsteps had faded towards the back, while the other had stayed behind her. Glancing back, she moved to the side as the guy offered her a smile before moving up as well.

Ryoka didn't bother hiding the roll of her eyes as Cashier-Girl blushed bright red and stuttered pathetically, "A-ah! H-how may I he-help y-y-you, sir?"

He chuckled, a deep baritone that even had Ryoka admit she had the chills. Amusedly, he stated, "I believe the young girl in front of you had your attention before."

She immediately apologized, catching Ryoka's annoyed gaze, before immediately starting to restring her violin. With a sigh, the girl slumped slightly, before the guy next to her spoke, "It's a nice violin. Handmade, perhaps?"

Ryoka grunted in agreement, eying his own instrument. "And yours?"

"Stradivari," He replied smoothly, and the two turned slightly as the bell rang again.

"Ah, what a surprise," Another boy entered with a violin case.

"Yagyuu." The guy next to the twin nodded, before turning back to her, "Forgive me. My name's Yuushi Oshitari."

"Since it's only polite, I'm Hiroshi Yagyuu," The newcomer introduced as well, bowing slightly.

"Ryoka Echizen."

* * *

"Ah."

Ryoko breathed deeply, eying the flute in her hands. It was beautiful, and her tone was resonant; the price wasn't all too shabby either. Smiling, she slipped the instrument back into the case.

Sighing, as her sister had yet to arrive, Ryoko looked around at the pianos. Most were digital, and while of good quality, she was looking towards the upright ones; grand pianos were just too fancy for their home.

Playing around, her fingers lightly trailed with some warm-ups, before softly playing the tune of Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat Major Op.9 No.2 with her right hand. Messing up every now and then, Ryoko closed her eyes, analyzing the tone of the piano.

When done with the piece, her eyes flew open, and she turned, startled, at the sound of clapping. A sheepish-looking boy with silver curls and a gentle smile was applauding.

"You play well," He complimented, "Would it happen to be Chopin?"

"Yes," She replied, "Are you a fan as well?"

"Yes," He nodded, before hesitating, "Ah, may I ask for your name…?"

He flushed darkly when she raised an eyebrow, before sighing in relief when she replied, "Ryoko Echizen."

He bowed. "Choutarou Ootori, nice to meet you."

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

Yuushi raised an eyebrow, "That took quite a while Ootori."

"Ah, sorry, senpai!" Choutarou apologized sheepishly, holding out the CD. "I got caught up with someone."

Humming, the two paid for their items, nodding towards the Rikkai Regular before exiting the store through the front entrance. "Let's just hurry, hm? You know how Atobe gets when we're late…"

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"Ah, so hot," Ryoko murmured, shifting the flute in her hand. She went up to the counter behind two guys, her gaze sweeping across the menu.

"Mm, a smoothie sounds good… But so does the parfait. Ah! Frozen yogurt!"

She blinked owlishly at one of the guys in front of her, studying his appearance. He had reddish-pink hair and was smacking on some gum.

"Marui-senpai! You're so loud! And just pick already!" The shorter boy with curled black locks stated impatiently, before ordering, "Ah, I'll have the strawberry-banana smoothie."

The older one ordered a frozen yogurt, the two sliding down the station (think about Subways!). Ryoko moved up, ordering two frozen yogurts: one New York cheesecake and one cookies n' cream. She continued to add toppings on the cheesecake and walked forward slowly.

Before she knew it, she crashed into the person in front of her.

"Ah!"

"Oomph, watch it!"

"It wasn't my fault!"

The guy in front immediately turned around with a glare, before it softened till he was merely blinking.

"Sorry," Ryoko murmured, nodding her head.

He nodded back, accepting her apology, before turning back around. The taller one looked around him, giving a grin, "Sorry about Akaya! He's just a kid!"

"Am not Marui-senpai!" 'Akaya' wailed childishly, before glancing at her. "It's Kirihara Akaya."

"And I'm Marui Bunta!"

"Nice to meet you."

* * *

"…yen."

Ryoka whipped out the credit card, paying for all the expenses, before easily grabbing the things. She slipped the flute on the other side of the tote bag, Karupin moving over to make some more room.

With a greeting, she left, heading towards the back exit to where her sister would be. She frowned when seeing no one there and left the store. Immediately, she spotted her sister down the street, holding cups.

"I got you some frozen yogurt," Ryoko murmured, handing her the cheesecake with the pile of toppings.

Nodding in thanks, the elder twin quickly handed the tote bag over, and Ryoko slipped her other flute into it – Karupin gave a loud mewl. Ryoka's violin case was the soft kind, with a strap, making life easier as the two slowly ate their cold treat.

"Ah, we still have to go shopping right?"

"Mm…" Ryoko dug into her pocket, "Let me grab the list."

"Ara? Ryoka-chan? Ryoko-chan?" A voice called and the two stopped, turning back.

"Eh? They're here?"

"Ah, good afternoon!"

"Senpai-tachi!" They chorused, greeting some of the Seigaku Regulars.

"What are you doing?" Momo questioned, and the two lifted their frozen yogurt.

"Eating—"

"—And we went to the music store." Ryoko finished.

Roka added, "We're about to head out to the grocery store too."

"Ah, do you want some help?" Oishi offered.

"It should be fine!"

At this moment, everyone paused as Fuji had to take his leave, getting in the car in which his older sister was driving.

"Cute!" Eiji cheered as Karupin's head poked out of the bag; Momo rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, it shouldn't be much trouble."

"…If you insist."

Hey, who were the twins to refuse free labor?

* * *

"We're home."

"Ah, Ryoka-chan! Ryoko-chan! Welcome back!" Nanako greeted, taking the groceries from them. "Perfect. We can start dinner immediately."

Karupin jumped out as the tote bag was set down, running off to bother the Echizen men.

Rinko popped her head out from the kitchen, "Go get cleaned you two."

The two showered as told, coming down to help out with the rest of the preparations for dinner.

"…Okaa-san?"

"Hm?"

"Our senpai-tachi helped us with the groceries," Ryoko started, and Ryoka glanced over at her before finishing their question, "Is there any way we can repay them back?"

Rinko smiled gently, "We'll see what we can do. Why don't you go check if we have any extra bentos left?"

* * *

**A/N:** Whew! Sorry! I hope this was interesting enough. :(

Please go read the top author's note if you haven't! It's **extremely important**, and includes **details**.

Also, please check out my profile if you haven't! Everything's been altered. :D


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I was totally going to add… _Technically_ Ryoko stole the new flute as Ryoka didn't pay for it yet and Ryoko went to go buy frozen yogurt… xD

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, story-alerted, etc~ I would totally give you all cookies. And I make awesome cookies. :)

I decided to start replying to reviews. I've gotten so many questions and whatnot that I'm starting to feel insecure about my writing. O_o

**Demoncat13** – Actually, I'm not sure if Yagyuu plays violin. But he totally seems like the type and I read it in a story once… It's probably a fictional fact.

**Chillybean – **Yup! They're all in high school now! :( Sorry about my mishap!

**MintLeafeon** – Thanks! Yup, lots of Regulars. And they'll be meeting more!

**DragonFire Princess** – Thank you~ :3 I feel like your username has come up a lot… OMG. YOU REVIEWED ALL CHAPTERS THUS FAR. ;D You deserve two cookies!

**WingsofFreedom ()** – I'm well aware that Yuushi and Choutarou attend Hyoutei. Did something confuse you in the last chapter? After rereading the chapter, I didn't see anything that could have caused the confusion… :/ Sorry, and thanks for the review!

* * *

**Chapter Three – Hope's Hostage**

Ryoka sighed irritably.

It was a bright morning, and while walking along the peaceful silence was nice, the lack of her twin's presence had her feel beyond annoyed. If there was anything that the twins both disliked would be waking up early in the morning and being separated with each other. (Of course, those were just a select few; they had plenty of other dislikes as well, the picky little…)

Sighing, she entered the hospital, the sliding doors closing behind her form as she walked to the front desk. Her mother had created an appointment in order for her to receive all of her vaccinations; considering Ryoko had received them back when the two were still in America, she was instead continuing to snuggle into her pillow in her bed.

The lucky brat.

With a sigh, she offered a nod to the nurse, who had questioned her arrival, before proceeding to fill out the information clipboard.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

Another irritation, for the lovely female, would be the lack of food. More precisely, the lack of food _in her stomach._ She had nearly exploded when someone suggested for her to head to the cafeteria while waiting for the doctor to arrive; like hell she was gonna eat that nasty hospital sh-!

"Ah!"

Ryoka vaguely noticed another grunt as she fell forward to the floor. Awaiting harsh impact, her eyes flew open in surprise as another grunt was heard, and she instead landed on something soft.

Blinking owlishly, she swiftly leapt up off the person, who she had landed on, apologizing shortly and helping him up. Gazing at him, she noticed he was rather effeminate-looking, frail, before shaking her head out of her daze – what did it matter?

Bowing slightly, she was caught off guard at the gentle smile directed at her, and a sweet, caring voice softly spoke, "I'm sorry miss, you're not hurt, are you?"

She couldn't help it.

Immediately responding, she bluntly stated, "I'm the one who landed on you yet you're asking whether _I'm_ okay?"

She wondered if all people were so… idiotic? Caring? Weird?

Well, whatever she was searching for, her thoughts dissipated as the guy chuckled. "True."

She continued to stay silent, merely watching him, and he offered a small smile. "Then, if you'll excuse me, I have to hurry before I'm late for my appointment. Perhaps we'll meet again under better circumstances."

At this, she couldn't help but smile _just_ the slightest, and with a nod, the two departed. Little did they know, they'd be seeing each other again quite soon.

* * *

"Eh?" The twins stared blankly at their friends, two of which seemed rather impatient, while the other three were a mix between looking apologetic, meek, and enthusiastic.

"Let's go!" Horio shouted enthusiastically with a slight hint of impatience.

"It'll be a lot of fun!" Tomoka agreed, for once, and grabbing onto the two's arms, she proceeded to drag the two out of the classroom.

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno protested, offering the twins an apologetic smile, "Please, don't force yourselves. If you're busy after school today, we understand."

"Yeah!" Katsuo agreed, nodding enthusiastically, "But if you have the time, you should really join us! It's so much fun to watch them play!"

"And it never gets boring either!" Kachiro explained as the group walked down the nearly-empty halls, "Being on the tennis club, we get to see them often, and it's always so exciting to watch them play."

"Sure," Ryoka nonchalantly replied, and Ryoko added, "Not like there's anything better to do anyway."

Which was true; homework, after all, could always wait until later.

With that, the seven students walked to the tennis court area of the school. They were currently heading over to watch the Regulars practice; while tennis club had been cancelled that day due to reasons, Regulars still continued with last-minute practice, considering they had a tournament in two days.

Though, Ryoko couldn't help but wonder why their classmates had to _beg_ them to join. They personally received an invitation from Eiji-senpai and Momo-senpai, so it's not like they weren't going of their free will; it wasn't like they had to be invited to be able to watch practice.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"Everyone," Fuji greeted with his usual smile. There was a cheer ("Nya~! O'chibi and Chibi-chan are here!") from Eiji and Oishi offered his usual, warm smile. A nod and more writing ("Ii data.") from Inui and Kaidoh merely "fshh"ed before slinking off towards wherever. Tezuka merely glanced from his position, before bellowing out more matches and Momo was currently grinning in a very cheesy manner, a water bottle in hand.

"Yo!" The tall sophomore greeted, free hand in the air, as the Echizen twins nodded back.

"Nya~ It's the first time O'chibi and Chibi-chan are watching us play, right?" Eiji questioned, to which Oishi nodded, making the cat cheer, "Then I'm gonna play my best!"

"Saa, but Eiji, shouldn't you _always_ be playing your best?" Fuji questioned, a sadistic grin creeping onto his face. Inui suddenly appeared behind him, holding up a large pitcher of… _something_. "Perhaps a little Inui Juice can spice up your motivation, hm?" The brunette suggested innocently, pleased with the visible shiver that wracked throughout the redhead's body.

"A-ah, no thanks Fujiko, I'm full!" Eiji hurriedly denied.

"Fuji, Inui, ten laps for horseplay. Eiji, ten laps for _not being motivated enough_," Tezuka, having been nearby and overhearing the conversation, commanded, before eying the rest of his team.

"Momoshiro, Oishi, Court B! Kaidoh, you're with me. Eiji, Fuji, you two are in Court D once you're done with your laps!"

With that, the majestic brunette captain marched towards Court C, where he would hold a match with the second year.

"C'mon, Ryoka-chan, Ryoko-chan! Seeing Tezuka-buchou in action is the best!" Katsuo and Kachiro ran ahead with Horio chatting their ears off.

"Yes, with my two years of experience, I can assume that Tezuka-buchou will win with a—"

"_Your tennis experience has nothing to do with it!"_

Ryoko and Ryoka could only wonder if this was the everyday tennis practice.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

Ryoko could only watch in awe and slight admiration as she gazed at the captain's perfect form. He gracefully served, delivering a powerful hit without actual using all of his power; when Kaidoh returned it, expected as he _was_ the powerhouse of the team, Tezuka smacked it back effortlessly.

Through Horio's love of listening to himself speak and bragging, he mentioned all of the Regular's special abilities/characteristics, including Kaidoh's vast amount of stamina. This proved to be a challenge to Tezuka, as even _he_ wasn't quite as built to the stamina than Kaidoh; however, in the end, the senior proved Kaidoh's snake shots futile when activating Tezuka Zone.

Eyes widening the slightest when recognizing the move, Ryoko exchanged glances with her twin, fists tightening slightly. Receiving a nod in return, the two observed the match silently, smirking inwardly when hearing the score of '6-2,' Tezuka being the winner.

"So, what do ya think?" Momoshiro walked over with a large grin, hand supporting a towel that he was currently using to wipe the sweat off his brow. "Impressive, right?"

The two exchanged glances once more, before staring back at him, cockiness and another mysterious emotion twinkling in their eyes. "Mada mada dane."

The two walked away, tossing their bags over their shoulders as they walked back home, leaving a twitching Momoshiro to stare blankly their why. "Those little…"

* * *

"Ryoko! Ryoka! Let's go!" Horio demanded, slamming his hands on their desks for emphasis, only to step back and howl in pain as he blew on his aching palms.

The two stared at him blankly, before redirecting the stares at the others' direction, questioning them with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, the Seigaku Regulars are having a friendly training session with the Fudomine Regulars!"

The Echizen twins merely blinked owlishly, having no recollection of the other school. "…So?"

"Let's go watch them!" Horio demanded, "Like the other day?"

Ryoka blinked. "…Don't you have your own tennis practice to do?"

The three guys blinked, before realization dawned. Panicking, they dashed out of the classroom, immediately racing towards the tennis courts to fulfill their freshmen duties. Rolling their eyes, the twins stepped out calmly, Tomoka and Sakuno following after, the former laughing her head off and the latter trying to hush her friend from being too loud.

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"Ann-chan!"

"Oh? Sakuno-chan!"

The eccentric brunette jogged up to her friend, greeting her with a wide smile. "How are you?"

"What are you doing here?" Sakuno inquires softly, curious about her friend's presence.

"What?" Ann stuck out her tongue playfully, "I can't come to watch the tennis practice?"

"N-no, th-that's not what I meant," Sakuno denied vehemently, waving her hands frantically in front of her in distraught.

Ann sweatdropped, "Aha, I was just kidding…" It was then she noticed the two twins standing behind the two girls, "Oh, who's this?"

"O-oh!" Sakuno turned to the two standing nonchalantly behind her, "This is Ryoka Echizen and Ryoko Echizen. They're new students."

"Nice to meet you!" Ann smiled, greeting them politely.

The two only nodded in return, and the other Seigaku girls smile apologetically, "Sorry, they're not very social."

But Ann waves it off, "It's fine!" She turns her attention to the two identical beings, "C'mon! Let me introduce you to the Fudomine Regulars!"

The five girls walked to the courts, the three more talkative girls chatting amidst themselves while the twins merely observed the practice happening around them.

Really… It seemed there was no escape.

Ryoko and Ryoka exchanged glances, short and discreet yet holding much meaning. Ryoko frowned slightly, glancing out her slightly twitching fingers before clenching them into fists.

"Nyaa~ It's Sakuno-chan and Tachibana-imouto!" Eiji called, before grinning wider when seeing the identical faces.

"Ochibi! Chibi-chan!" He called, glomping the two; in their surprise, the three crashed to the ground.

"Senpai…" Ryoka grunted.

"You're crushing us…!" Ryoko breathed out harshly.

"Ah, mengo, mengo!" He got off the two, allowing the two to breathe as he helped the two up.

"Yo!" Momoshiro greeted the two, as he and Fuji walked up to them.

"Saa, are you here to watch the practice?" The genius questioned, a pleasant smile on his lips.

Ryoka nodded, "Tachibana-san wanted to introduce us to the Fudomine Regulars."

"Please," Ann waved her hand dismissively, "Call me Ann-chan." She smiled at the two, grabbing their hands and dragging them away from the Seigaku Regulars, "C'mon you two! We'll see you guys later!" She called back.

"Mou~" Eiji pouted, and Momoshiro blinked owlishly. "Ah…"

Fuji smiled mysteriously.

"Onii-san!" Ann called, still dragging her new friends by the hands, "Meet my new friends!"

"Ryoko-chan, Ryoka-chan, this is my brother; he's the captain of Fudomine boys tennis team."

He nodded, "Kippei Tachibana, it's nice to meet you."

"Pleasure," The two chorused curtly, bowing slightly in return.

"Over there is Kyosuke Uchimura, Tatsunori Mori, Masaya Sakurai, and Tetsu Ishida," Ann pointed out, "…And these two—" At this point, she grabbed two people's hands, "—are Shinji Ibu and Akira Kamio."

The twins nodded in greeting, eying the redhead who seemed to be _very_ interested in their new friend.

"Hm, Ann seemed to have made new friends that are average in height and are twins," Shinji muttered to himself, and Ryoko exchanged a glance with her twin.

"Sorry," Ann smiled sheepishly, "He has a habit."

"So," she let go of the two's hands, instead grabbing the hands of the twins, "Have you ever been to a joint tennis practice before?"

When the freshmen shook their head, she grinned, "I think you'll have a lot of fun."

Boy, was that the understatement of the year.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, that was such a filler chap. Sorry! I really wanted to get an update out for you guys since it's like three months late. Please read and review~


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** …ohmigosh. Oh. My. Gosh. OHMYGOSH. OH. MY. GOSH. OHMYFGEEEE~ So, um, yeah, hi. :D /shot. I can only blame school. Seriously guys, I'm so booked, and I'm on the verge of discontinuing this because I'm not getting any ideas, but I don't want to because I discontinued the other one.

After reading a bunch of your guys' reviews (seriously? After all this time? I am _touched_.), I was so inspired and happy that I wanted to **cry**. Thanks guys. You guys rock. Sincerely, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So, uhh, I tried to make this as long as I could write. You guys are simply amazing, and I'm _still_ getting favorites and stuff, so thanks, guys, really. I'm eternally grateful. I tried to make this as long as I can, since it's EXTREMELY long overdue.

Anyways. Enough of my chatter. Read on~!

* * *

**Chapter Four – Unexpected Happenings**

(Originally, I was gonna include the matches between Sei and Fudo, and the interaction between the regulars and Echi-twins, but I decided to skip that and get to the fun/juicy parts~)

"…what."

Ryoka twitched slightly, and Ryoko narrowed her eyes into a glare at the three cowering boys in front of her. Well, two cowering boys, as one was just too oblivious – or was it stupid? – to notice the evil auras the two emitted.

"We—!" The self-proclaimed leader was interrupted by his two "followers" shouting indignantly, "It was all your idea!" "—decided to sign the two of you up along with us and Sakuno and that loud-mouthed friend of hers—"

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME?"

Proceed to Tomoka beating the crap out of Horio, and the two [high school] freshmen watching them in nervous amusement. (Cue sweatdrop.)

The twins then turned to Sakuno, who was nervously grinning at her friend's antics. Noticing their stares, she repeated, "We all thought it'd be fun to sign up together." Clasping her hands together in front of her, she continued, "And we thought it'd be even more fun if the two of you would join us. I hope you'll forgive us."

She stared at them hopefully, eyes wide with naïve innocence. [1] Ryoka and Ryoko sighed in defeat; there was no going against the puppy dog eyes of doom.

"So what did we sign up for?"

"Hmm? Don't you know?" She looked up at them curiously, "It's to help out at the Seigaku Training Camp."

At the blatant stares she received, it was safe for Sakuno to say that the two didn't know.

…They _really_ couldn't escape the tennis world, huh?

* * *

"I refuse!"

"Oyaji…" Ryoka grumbled, as Ryoko, with a blank stare on her face, jabbed the pen into his gut while shoving the papers into his face.

"No! There's no way I'm letting my baby girls got to a camp full of _men_. No, not even men! **Boys.**" Their "father" prattled childishly.

"Okaa-san!" The two chorused, the slightest whining tone in their voices.

"Nanji-kun~!" Rinko's eyes glinted.

Nanjiro gulped.

And the twins snickered to themselves, amused, as a terrified shout echoed.

* * *

"Bye Ryoko-chan! Ryoka-chan! I love you!" Rinko called out, smiling sweetly, as the two dragged their things down the steps. "Be sure to watch out now! And make sure you bring a boyfriend by the time you get home!"

In order to not be in conflict with school, the training camp was to take place during break. So the freshmen had apparently signed them up two months in advance. Granted, the two weren't happy with going to a training camp (in which they weren't even going to participate in) during their break, but after multiple days of whining from Tomoka and Horio, the two finally gave in.

And thus, they were walking to school to meet up with the other voluntary freshmen, dragging packed luggage behind them. Strangely, tennis bags were strapped over their shoulders, holding the very same racquets that were left untouched and wasting away in their closet.

"Ryoka…"

The elder twin glanced to her side, curiosity burning slightly in her golden, cat-like eyes. She met gaze with her sister, the exact same golden, cat-like eyes staring back at her, an unknown emotion shining brightly in her eyes.

"Perhaps…" The younger twin started quietly. She paused. "Perhaps fate…" she started again, "Won't give us a choice."

Ryoka didn't reply, but the answer was nevertheless there, unspoken in the breeze.

"_Yeah."_

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"Ryoka-chan, Ryoko-chan, you made it!" Sakuno called out, greeting the two with her soft smile. The twins nodded in return, eyes gazing from the brunette to Kachiro and Katsuo, who greeted the girls kindly.

"We're just waiting for Horio-kun and Tomoka-chan," Sakuno informed the two, nervously playing with her skirt.

"The Regulars have already boarded the bus," Kachiro stated, motioning to the bus a little while away behind them, "You should probably give your things to the driver so he can put it up."

Silently, the two handed their things to said bus driver, who took their things and carefully set them inside the luggage carriage area. With a small bow as thanks, the two returned to their friends.

Tomoka ended showing up a bit later, apologizing for her delay loudly as she was caught up with last-minute packing. The six freshmen decided that it was time to board the bus, seeing as it was to leave in about five minutes.

The twins stood side by side as they were the last to board, and upon boarding the bus, they saw that the seats were scattered. Sakuno had went to sit next to her grandmother, and Tomoka sat in the seat behind them – the seat next to her remaining empty; behind her sat Kachiro and Katsuo.

Despite the two being friends with Tomoka, she was simply too loud for their tastes, and they immediately turned to scan the rest of the bus. Unfortunately, only two seats were left: one being near the front next to their captain, and one near the mid-back next to Fuji. The two were conflicted as they wanted to sit next to each other.

With a small sigh, Ryoko gently nudged her sister; for some reason, she felt that the elder twin _fit_ more properly with the rest of the team than she did. Ryoka, with a reluctant glance behind her, grudgingly trudged her way towards the empty seat next to Fuji. She was immediately greeted loudly by Eiji and Momoshiro, both sitting next to Oishi and Kawamura, respectively.

Ryoko moved to in front of her captain, smiling just the slightest, questioning silently if she could sit next to him when his attention was aroused. He nodded, replying back in the same manner, before returning his attention back to the book in front of him.

Needless to say, Horio ended up showing, rather frazzled in appearance, two minutes before their departure, and ended up sitting next to Tomoka, much to both of their displeasure. Ryoka was annoyed the entire trip, having to deal with two loudmouths and a sadistic tensai. Ryoko on the other hand, spaced out the entire trip, listening to her mp3 and staring out the window, remaining in a neutral silence – it being neither comfortable nor awkward – with her seatmate.

All in all, a very **normal** trip.

* * *

From the looks of things, Seigaku's bus was the last to arrive. Ryuuzaki-sensei had informed everyone that the teams were to meet in the living room, and that assistants would be meeting separately near the front entrance before joining the rest of them for some general announcements.

Ryoka and Ryoko reunited with the other five freshmen before the group entered the large, spacious building. There, they met up with some random helper, assumedly someone helping out with the program, and what looked to be three third years and a second year. The twins also noticed Ann included in the group.

"All of you are gathered here because you have volunteered to help from your respective schools. This is the first time we've tried this, so please bear with us when confusions and frustrations arise." He started out pleasantly, before getting serious.

"This program has invited all of Japan's finest high school tennis teams from all over. Regarding this, the facility we're standing in now, as provided graciously by the Atobe family, is quite huge – in order to hold everyone's training. Anyhow," He paused to take a breath, "The tennis teams will be broken into groups and will be guided by the coaches, that is, Sakaki-sama, Ryuuzaki-sama, and Hanamura-sama. All of you here will help them whatever it may be."

Everyone listened as he went over the general schedule, Ryoka and Ryoko's aura darkening greatly when they heard how early they had to wake up, before he motioned for the group to find their rooms before meeting up in the living room. As everyone split, Ryoko blinked, murmuring to herself, "Ah, we left our bags."

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"…please communicate with one another to achieve suitable rooming assignments. Now then, we will now introduce the assistants that will be assisting the coaches and teams in whichever way possible."

School by school, the assistant representatives introduced themselves formally.

"I'm Ann Tachibana from Fudomine High School. Please take care of me~!" She grinned, and there were plenty of comments of her appearance throughout the crowd.

Passing the mic, Ryoko stepped up. "Ryoko Echizen. Seishun High School." [1]

The majority of the people in the room sweat-dropped at the short introduction.

* * *

**With Hyoutei…**

"Hm?" Yuushi Oshitari looked up, gazing at the freshman with interest.

"What's up Yuushi?" His doubles partner, Gakuto Mukahi piped up from beside him.

"No, nothing," Yuushi denied, his eyes sparking in interest. _'Things will be interesting…'_

"Eh? Ah…" Choutarou blinked in confusion.

"Hm?" Shishido turned towards his junior. "Something wrong Choutarou?"

"Ah! Nothing Shishido-san!"

**With Rikkaidai…**

Yukimura's smile further widened, and while Sanada took notice, he mentioned nothing. A smiling Yukimura was, while nothing strange, could be something to be wary about.

Niou glanced to the side as he saw his partner grin slightly. Yagyuu, noticing his glance, looked towards him. "What is it Masaharu-kun?"

"You know her?" He lazily threw his head in said freshman's direction.

"We've met," Yagyuu replied shortly.

"Ne, Marui-senpai, wasn't the person we met _Ryoko_ Echizen?" Kirihara questioned, and Marui nodded, not even turning to look at him, "Heh, I'm surprised you remember." He ignored the "Hey!" resounding from the sophomore before muttering to himself, "What's with the name change?"

* * *

"Ara? It seems we're missing someone?"

Ryoka stared at the empty space beside her blankly, wondering where her twin was.

"Nya~ Oishi! Where'd Chibi-chan goooo?" Eiji wailed, latching onto his partner, as the vice-captain attempted to calm him.

"Hm, there is an 85% chance that she is lost in the building, 12% chance she is in the bathroom, and 2% chance she is still in the bus," Inui stated. Momoshiro, having overheard him, curiously questioned, "What about the other 1%, senpai?" [2]

"Fsh, at least the idiot can do math," Kaidoh muttered under his breath. The spiky-haired sophomore turned abruptly, grabbing the collar of his fellow year's shirt before dragging him face-to-face. "What was _that_, **Mamushi?**"

Before he could respond, a door opened and a petite girl entered the room.

"Ah! There she is!"

Ryoko, catching sight of her sister's eye, caught sight of the mic flying towards her way and catching it with ease. Blinking slowly, she gazed down at the object in her hand before murmuring, "Ryoka Echizen. Seishun High." She then joined everyone up on stage.

"And this introduces our assistants! Please bow and applaud."

* * *

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Regulars from Hyoutei and Rikkaidai thought, _'There are _TWO _of them!'_

* * *

After a brief overview of the training camp, the teams were let off to settle room assignments and to relax for a final half day before an entire two weeks of hell, I mean, torture, oops, I mean, FUN.

While many had left the room, there were still plenty who loitered around the room, mingling, and quite a few went up to the twins.

"LUCKY~ Two cute twins~"

The twins looked up from their seats, staring up at a enthusiastically grinning upperclassman. "I'm Sengoku Kiyosumi~ How about you and I get to know each other with some coffee, hm?"

Ryoka glanced away as Ryoko merely stared at him unblinkingly, and they chorused, "Not interested."

The grin on his face died, leaving him with a dumbfounded expression as he blinked slowly, not expecting to be shot down so quickly. Someone stepped to his side, and with a smirk, the guy leered, "Watch how a pro does it, puri~"

"Niou Masaharu at your service," He greeted charmingly, bowing mockingly. The twins, however, didn't even look up at him.

"Not interested."

"Masaharu, you're not causing trouble already, are you?"

The rest of the Rikkaidai Regulars suddenly showed up, the speaker being none other than the captain.

"Ah." Ryoka's eyes lit up slightly in recognition, "The hospital guy." The effeminate third-year smiled charmingly, "We never formally introduced ourselves, did we? I'm Seiichi Yukimura. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ryoka Echizen-san." He greeted kindly. "And you as well, Ryoko Echizen-san," He added.

The two twins nodded. "Pleasure."

"Ah, so it's the same Ryoko Echizen-chan!" Marui commented, leaning over Kirihara. "Yo!" He greeted. Ryoko blinked. "Ah, the frozen yogurt people!"

The two comically fell to the floor. "What? She doesn't even remember our names?"

"You'll have to excuse them," Ann pardoned, "They're rather horrible with names." Hearing this, the twins grumbled to themselves, pouting _just_ the slightest.

'_Kawaii!'_ Many of those around them thought.

"Arn~? And what is so important that gathers the attention of the Rikkaidai Regulars? Especially when it is not Ore-sama, na, Kabaji?" "Usu."

And suddenly, the Hyoutei Regulars arrive.

"Arn~?" Atobe took notice of the beautiful twins sitting on his couch. Smirking, he flirtatiously greeted them, "Greetings, princesses, my name is Keigo Atobe, heir to Atobe Corporations and one of the richest families in the word. And you are, my princesses?"

"Do you really need to ask again when we introduced ourselves not even ten minutes ago?" Ryoka deadpanned. Ryoko blinked, "Ah, the family providing the building… Wasn't their name similar to his?" She murmured.

Atobe, having been depressed from Ryoka's comment, perked at Ryoko's question. "Why, it is my fam—" He was interrupted with Ryoko's musings.

"Ah, what was his name again?"

The twins' eyes met, perking in realization. "Ah! A_hou_be!"

Atobe, having heard this, paled drastically, nearly fainting from the word that left his princesses' lips; meanwhile, Gakuto, Niou, Marui and Kirihara were howling in laughter on the floor; Yuushi and Shishido snickering away; even Choutarou, Yukimura, and Yagyuu were hiding their smiles.

"Ah, Hyoutei and Rikkaidai are here!"

And finally, Seigaku arrived. Immediately, Eiji glomp his two favorite twins, resulting in the trio sprawling out on the floor as his body weight left them unguarded. "Ochibi! Chibi-chan! I missed you~!"

"Eiji, you're crushing them!" "Nya?" He looked down, realizing he was more or less on top of them, before quickly getting off.

"Oooff…" "Thanks Oishi-senpai."

And again, another joins the group.

"Ah, Ryoko-chan, Ryoka-chan, have you picked your room yet? I think Sakuno-chan, Tomoka-chan and I are sharing; you guys should have the room next to us!" Ann exclaimed, grabbing the two's hands and dragging them away upstairs, Sakuno following fretfully.

* * *

"For only six coaches, wouldn't it be a lot of trouble to split up everyone into six groups?" Hanamura inquired, taking a sip of her tea.

"What do you suggest then, Hanamura-sensei? I feel that all of us are skilled enough to handle them," Sakaki replied coolly.

"There's that Mizuki Hajime, who manages St. Rudolph's team," Banji commented, but Ryuuzaki immediately shot him down. "There's also Inui Sadaharu from Seishun, and even your own Dan Taichi; are you saying that the managers shouldn't practice their own skills?"

It was silent.

"Perhaps," Ryuuzaki spoke up once more, "I have found a solution." She smirked.

* * *

"Ryoka, Ryoko, a word." Ryuuzaki called, before heading into the next room. The twins glance at each other, before following the coach out of the room.

"Sit down; this may take a while."

Having done so, the twins wait patiently for their sensei to get started in whatever she needed to tell them.

"First of all, I'd like to clarify something," She started, and the twins nodded, silently asking her to continue.

"Which one of you is the Prince of Tennis?"

* * *

[1] - _"Ryoko Echizen. Seishun High School."_

Seishun Gakuen, AKA Seigaku, means Seishun Academy. I don't believe it's an elevator school, so for now, it'll stay as Seishun High. Eh, it's fanfiction anyway!

[2] - _"What about the other 1%, senpai?" _(Momoshiro)

I'm pretty sure it's a fact that Momoshiro's favorite subject, or maybe a subject he's good at(?), is math. I may be wrong though.

**A/N: **DUN DUN DUN.

I'm so sorry for this crappiest, most boring chapter of all chapters in the history of the world. It's all blotchy and ARGH. Sorry. D:

I told myself I'd work on this story throughout break, and it's already the end of it. But I'm determined to get one more chapter out before break ends! I promise!

**Pairing: **OMGWHAT. Yeah, I know. Very few people actually expressed their opinions on pairings; I'm kinda surprised. Anywho, from the look of things, it looks like Ryoka will be paired up with Fuji, or maybe Yukimura, and Ryoko will be paired up with Tezuka, or maybe Fuji (depending on what Ryoka's pairing will be, obviously).

I'll be leaving more room for suggestions, but it few people suggest or express their opinions, it will probably be Fuji and Tezuka.

Please R&R~~ Much appreciation to everyone who reviewed and favorited and alerted! :)


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: **So I promised you guys I'd get the chapter out before break was over. It's about half an hour passed the time I was going to sleep (…'cause, I have to wake up early, and I like sleep :3), but I need to get this chapter out because school starts tomorrow! D:

Oh well. So, more interesting events occur, some action starts to happen, and we learn a bit more about the Echizens' secrets. :3 kinda.

Oh, and I'm kinda in a bind. After this and maybe one to two more chapters, I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen. If I can think of something, then I'll definitely be able to write, or otherwise this story might enter another hiatus as I enter writer's block. **Soooo**… If you have _any_ suggestions, please review and let me know! :3 I'm not saying I'll use it, but any idea might trigger an idea of my own, or might be included in the story. ;) You never know~

**Pairing:** Eh, still iffy. I suppose now it's changed to Ryoka/Yukimura and Ryoko/Tezuka. You can still let me know what _**your**_ preferred pairings are, regardless of the poll on my profile!

* * *

**Chapter Five – And So It Begins**

"_Which one of you is the Prince of Tennis?"_

It was silent.

_Doki._

_Doki._

_Doki._

Their hearts beat against their ribcages in rhythm and their hands unconsciously found each other and gripped harshly.

"How'd you know?" Ryoka murmured.

After all, it was useless to deny it. Perhaps, if the person was below average in intelligence, then they could've pulled off a psychological attack – trick and deceive, if you will. But Ryuuzaki-sensei was bright, exceedingly so, and observant.

She scoffed. "Please. Long ago, before you were born, I had an exceptional tennis-playing student. He rose through the ranks at a young age – freshmen as you two are – and continued to play tennis, going pro at an older age. But, he then retired. Unexpectedly, I might add, as if he vanished, about, say, twelve years ago."

At this, she stared at them from the corner of her eyes, an unknown emotion gleaming in them. "That man was – is – Nanjiroh Echizen. From what I know, he has two sons – Ryoga Echizen, the Mastermind Demigod, and Ryoma Echizen, the Prince of Tennis. Of course, I wasn't expecting Ryoma Echizen to be Ryoka and Ryoko Echizen."

She turned to face them directly. "So. Who is it?"

The twins were silent, before they looked up and stared back, face (or, faces) to face. "Both of us are. _We_ are Prince of Tennis."

"I don't understand," Ryuuzaki-sensei started, but Ryoko interrupted her. "We swapped. Some games Ryoka would play; some games I would. Learning from our father, our moves aren't any different. And being twins gave us an advantage that no one would ever suspect anything."

"Hm, you two have it all planned out," The elder woman commented, closing her eyes in thought, before inquiring curiously, "But why play as Ryoma Echizen? Why not just play as girls?"

"As females, we would always be looked down upon," Ryoka started, scowling a bit, "Even as Ryoma, we were still looked down upon – for our height and our age. Of course, after two games or so, things would change, but it still wasn't enough."

"It got to the point that the people we played in America were too weak anyways; no one was a challenge anymore," Ryoko added softly, "So we decided to quit and focus more on our musical skills as mother wanted us to."

"Hm," Ryuuzaki grunted, thinking through their story. After a bit of silence, she suddenly stood, smirking.

"Ryoka, Ryoko, tomorrow you will be facing against two Regulars to see where you stand compared to them," She smirked even wider, "I'm sure you'll find these guys a much better challenge than of those you faced in America."

"Practice is cancelled due to unexpected rain; however, if the morning is clear, than you will be having those matches. It's the perfect opportunity."

However, the twins were very adamant about their decision, and Ryoko voiced it out, "Sensei, we told you we qui—"

"You brought your racquets, didn't you?" Ryuuzaki interrupted, glancing at them. Taking their silence as defeat, she then left the room, leaving the twins to their thoughts.

* * *

"Nanako-chan, go ahead and start the first load; I'm going to check Ryoka-chan's and Ryoko-chan's room to see if they have any clothes laying around."

"Yes Auntie!" [1]

It's been awhile since Rinko had checked on their room. They weren't quite organized and proper, but they weren't sloppy like their father, fortunately. Most of the time Rinko didn't need to worry about their room; however, she figured this would be a good time to check to see if anything was out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately for her, she found the room to be quite messy; perhaps packing for their trip took a lot more effort than she thought it would. Sighing while shaking her head in amusement, she grabbed clothes one by one, throwing them into the basket she had carried with her.

Grabbing a small pile of clothes, Rinko blinked as she felt something hard. "Ara? What's this?" Skillfully tossing the clothes into the basket, she unveiled the object and blinked owlishly at its appearance.

"Ah, isn't this the cap they wore while pretending to be Ryoma? What's it doing out? I thought they left it in the box when we unpacked…" [2]

She stared at the object a bit longer, before smiling softly. Walking across the room, she opened their closet door and gently placed the cap on the high shelf within. She always had a feeling her daughters weren't – couldn't – give up tennis.

Perhaps she was right all along. [3]

* * *

Just as Ryuuzaki-sensei had stated, it was announced that tennis practice was cancelled for the day due to unexpected rain showers during breakfast time for everyone. Some cheered, happy for a break, while others groaned, irritated they had changed into their tennis uniform and got up so early for no reason.

However, what surprised everyone was the announcement at the end. "Takeshi Momoshiro and Akaya Kirihara, please report to the tennis courts promptly at 7:30. I repeat: Takeshi Momoshiro and Akaya Kirihara, please report to the tennis courts promptly at 7:30."

Most were curious at this, _especially_ the teams of the aforementioned Regulars.

"Akaya…" Yukimura murmured softly, smiling, "Is there something you would like to share with us?"

"I swear buchou, I didn't do anything!" Kirihara exclaimed, shivering just the slightest at the smile he was receiving.

"Hard to believe, brat," Niou drawled.

"I'm serious senpai! I didn't do _anything_!" Akaya growled, starting to get frustrated.

"Now, now," Yagyuu soothed, in an attempt to keep the serenity at such an early time, "We'll find out soon, won't we?"

Meanwhile, the Seishun team was having a similar conversation of their own.

"Nya~ Momo! What'd you do?" Eiji questioned curiously, big blue eyes staring at his favorite underclassman (well, other than the Echizen twins) with interest.

"I didn't do anything!" Momo exclaimed, hands raised in the common 'I'm-innocent!' gesture.

"Saa, Momo," Fuji said, gaining everyone's attention, "You have 15 minutes to finish eating at getting to the courts on time. You must be _prompt_."

"Crap!" He then started shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming speed.

Ironically, everyone was so busy with the unexpected news (and making up rumors and such as to what they're in trouble for and what their punishments may be) that no one noticed the absence of two freshmen girls.

* * *

_How long was it? Since they last held racquets in their hands for an official match?_

Ryoka quickly dashed to the left, reaching to the opposite end in record time and way before the ball appeared, before powerfully back-handing it back to her sister. Her sister mimicked her move, dashing to her own left, before lobbing it.

The elder twin responded with a jump and a smash, which the younger one returned with a quick straight shot towards the center of the court. The light rally continued, the sole purpose being to warm up and to get used to the feel of the racquet, the feel of the wind in their hair, the feel of the adrenaline pumping through their legs – a feeling they have forgotten, and missed.

It wasn't long before the rally ended, the point going to the younger, before three coaches appeared, Ryuuzaki-sensei included among them. Bowing in greeting, the twins remained silent as Sakaki-sensei approached them.

"Ryuuzaki-sensei has told us to allow you two to perform. After much talk, the rest of the coaches and I agreed. I hope you will make this worth our time," He stated icily, and from the gleam in the Seishun coach's eyes, the twins knew that their secret was safe.

For now.

The twins merely stared back, unfazed as he stared back just as intently. Hanamura-sensei coughed. "Sakaki-sensei, it's near 7:30. The others will be joining us soon."

Without another word, Sakaki-sensei turned, leaving the courts. Shaking her head, Ryuuzaki-sensei approached them, "You've been in practice." She had stated it so bluntly that the two were startled. "You have the blood of Samurai Nanjiroh in you; I doubt that you could just stop completely."

And it was true. Tennis was their addiction, and while they had quit… They couldn't quit completely. They had started self-training: wearing weights everywhere they go, bouncing the ball against the wall at night, even playing against each other, though that proved to be futile since they were too in sync – they knew each other's moves, strategies, thoughts to play a real game.

But this was different.

From the distance, the mass of students approached the field, each and every one of them curious. Their eyes drifted from coach to coach, before finally landing on the two twins. They were confused, but realization dawned. The twins were decked out in tennis attire, racquets in their hands.

Ryuuzaki smirked. "Momoshiro, you're up against Ryoko. Kirihara, you're up against Ryoka."

And so it begins.

* * *

**A/N:** It's a bit short, but I have to end it because it's reeeeaaaaally late, and I still have quite a bit to do before I sleep. I didn't mean to leave you with another cliffhanger – but it just sorta happened. :3 Sorry! /not really sorry at all

"_Yes Auntie!" [1]_

[1] – I'm trying to keep away from Japanese phrases because it breaks the flow (though I, personally, am fine with it), but it's hard, because sometimes "Hai" and "Sou ka" really makes up the tone/mood of the story. :/ oh well.

So think of it as a "Hai Obaa-san!" instead.

"_Ah, isn't this the cap they wore while pretending to be Ryoma? What's it doing out? I thought they left it in the box when we unpacked…" [2]_

[2] – Originally I wrote it as "'Ah, isn't this Ryoma's cap?'" but I didn't want to confuse anyone to think that Ryoma is real. (At least, not in this story.) Therefore, it became the above.

_Perhaps she was right all along. [3]_

[3] – Oooohhh~ Mother's intuition? But is it only just that? Hmm…

**Anywho~** I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out, but I do want to get to it before I forget what I'm going to write. It happens often. If I have little homework along this week, then I can write bits and pieces (until it's complete), but I can't promise anything yet. :(

Till next time! Please review! **Oh, and thanks to everyone who favorited, reviewed, and alerted! I appreciate all the support!**

******MAKE SURE YOU READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER. THANK YOU.  
**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Blargh, free time~! HELL YEAH. Unfortunately, it's the one day that is having login issues. T^T Regardless, hope you enjoy.

_The Kookie Monster_ – As in, he's not an actual person/sibling of the twins. He's merely a face portrayed by Ryoko and Ryoka when they played in America. Makes sense? If not, just let me know or ignore it altogether. It's not really important.

_Quixling_ – I'm not really too keen on Tomoka and Horio (or even Sakuno; I hate her too) as friends either. It just makes my job a bit easier to connect the twins to tennis as they're all freshmen, rather than making up a couple of OCs. Also, it's only natural I stick a bit more with Momo than most of the others; he's the Regular Ryoma mostly interacts with in the anime. However, that won't be the case for much longer.

**Pairing:** Permanently (?) will be RyokaxYukimura and RyokoxTezuka. Sorry to disappoint.

* * *

**Chapter Six – We are Ryoma Echizen!**

"_Momoshiro, you're up against Ryoko. Kirihara, you're up against Ryoka."_

There was silence.

"Eh? Sensei, you can't be serious!"

"What's the purpose of these matches?"

"Are there going to be girl regulars?"

"That's only assuming if they do well in the first place, idiot!"

The crowd burst into conversation, many people doubting the girls' skills while others were complaining about the waste of time. Of course, a few people remained silent, a bit interested in the coaches' decisions; after all, they wouldn't just pit them against Regulars if they didn't think the girls were any good.

Ryuuzaki was silent for a bit before she spoke up, "Actually, Momoshiro, give your racquet to Kintarou Toyama. As Seigaku students, they have already seen you play before." She smirked, "Wouldn't want to give them an unfair advantage."

"Eh?" Momoshiro blinked before shrugging, "Okay." He handed over the racquet to an ecstatic first year – who wasn't bothered at all with playing a girl. Hey, at least he gets to play someone!

"Hey, Koshimae right?" He called cheerfully, "Don't think I'm going to take you easy because you're a girl!"

Meanwhile, Kirihara was rather unsure of this turn of outcomes. "Huh? You want _me_ to play against her?"

"100% chance that Akaya will win," Yanagi muttered from nearby.

"Might as well get it over with Akaya," Marui urged, shoving him forward.

"Okay, okay!"

Ryoko twitched. "…Who the _**hell**_ is Koshimae?"

"…Thrash him Ryoko," Ryoka growled, "We'll show these pigs just how _bad_ we are."

~0~[Echizen]-!~0~!-[Twins]~0~

"Game! Toyama! 2-0! Change courts!"

"_Heh, exactly what I thought."_

"_She doesn't even stand a chance."_

"_Tch, and he didn't even do anything special."_

Ryoka stood nearby, seething silently to herself in anger as she heard the sexist remarks. Staring fiercely at her twin's direction, she growled mentally, _'Damn it Ryoko! If you don't do something now, I'll personally send him to an early grave myself!'_

Suddenly, Ryoko flinched, just enough for the majority of players to notice.

"Ara? Is something wrong?"

Glancing over at the older twin, Ryoko stared back blankly. Exchanging imperceptible nods, Ryoko breathed in deeply, before slowly changing her stance.

"_Ara? She changed her position?"_

"…_That stance!"_

"Uwah! Twist serve!" Kintarou exclaimed, leaping into the air with a spin before returning the serve. "Finally showing something, eh, Koshimae?"

Ryoko quickly returned the ball, speedily shooting it into the far corner where he couldn't reach.

"This guy… Pisses me off!" Ryoko gritted her teeth as she served another Twist Serve – to which Kintarou eagerly remarked, "C'mon Koshimae! Don't you have anything else?"

Despite this, Ryoko easily earned a game, finally having the murmurs stop. Now it was serious.

"Advantage – Echizen!" A serve. Hit. Return. Smash.

"Game, Echizen! 2 – 2! Change courts!"

Ryoko gritted her teeth, serving up a serve with all her might. As a fierce rally broke out between the two, Ryoka calmly watched from the sidelines, analyzing Kintarou with cool, calculating eyes.

'_Hm. So that's how it is.'_

Needless to say, her sister on court was doing the same. _'I wonder.'_

Aiming her shot to a far corner, she observed as he flung himself to the air, performing a smash. Returning it with ease, she lobbed it high, watching as he returned it with a drop volley; this time, she made no move to return it, letting him score.

'_Heh.'_ Returning to the base line to serve, she smirked. _'From now on…'_

He shot another volley to which she returned with a smash. When the ball came back, she took the opportunity to deliver a smash. Unexpectedly, the ball bounced and flew in another direction – much like the Twist Serve.

'_I refuse to give you another point!'_

* * *

"Game and match! Game won by Echizen!"

Ryoko breathed deeply. It was a harsh game, especially when she had not used too many moves, but then again, neither did her opponent. Both had gone easy against the other, and for that, she growled, she would never forgive herself or the other.

Trudging up to the net for the traditional handshake, she was startled when he had enthusiastically shook her hand. "Uwah~ Koshimae, you were amazing! I want to play you again!"

"Then next time don't go easy on me!" She shot back, and he blinked owlishly, almost confused. "Eh…"

Suddenly, still gripping her hand, he jumped up and down excitedly, "Ah! You noticed? This just makes me want to play you even more! Play me Koshimae!"

Ryoko ticked, "Oi, let go… Oi. I said, let go…! And who the hell is Koshimae anyway?"

Ripping her arm from his grip, she began to walk off the court, heading to the sidelines to hydrate and watch her twin's match.

"Heeeey!" Kintarou called after her, and she looked back. He grinned, "Next time, don't go easy on me either!" Before she could get a word in, he dashed back to his teammates' sides. She looked down, contemplating, and a moment later, looked up to see mirrored golden cat-like eyes stare back at her.

She smirked.

It looked like there were some interesting people here in Japan.

Switching off, Ryoko headed over to the sidelines where her sister was standing calmly, having already stretched and warmed up. Despite Ryoko's skill, it was _this_ match the twins were waiting for; after all, Rikkaidai _was_ supposed to be considered one of the best.

"_One set match. Kirihara Akaya versus Echizen Ryoka. Echizen to serve."_

Ryoko silently passed her sister's racquet to her before sitting down and greedily taking a long sip of her Ponta.

Ryoka started to walk towards the court, before she paused. "Unlike you…" She glanced over her shoulder, "I will show no mercy. He's not scoring a single point."

There was no point in wishing luck. The twins knew who was going to win anyway.

* * *

Racquet in her right hand, the elder twin threw the ball into the air to serve. As the racquet made contact, and the ball shot through the air like a bullet, she smirked.

Yes, she did say that she was going to show no mercy. But that didn't mean that he deserved to feel the full power of her technique.

"_Twist Serve!"_

Kirihara was thrown into one heck of a game.

As the rally on the court grew wild and fierce, Ryoko was approached by the Seigaku Regulars.

"Nya~! Chibi-chan! Why didn't you tell us you played tennis?" Eiji wailed indignantly, pouting with his arms wrapped around the girl's body, completely ignoring her personal space.

"You never asked," She bluntly responded, already going through her third can of Ponta.

"Yosh!" Momoshiro grinned, "Play a game with me after, okay?"

"Yadda."

"What? You brat!"

Ryoko stood up. "If you have any hopes of beating me, then you best watch the match and learn."

She then walked away to grab another Ponta.

"Tch. That girl. Someone needs to knock her down," Momo pouted slightly, turning to pay attention to the game.

Fuji chuckled. "What a girl indeed."

The rest of the Regulars turned to look at the place she was previously sitting, only to see a pile of six empty Ponta cans.

* * *

"Game! Echizen! 1-0!"

It had been less than 3 minutes and Ryoka had scored. Kirihara hadn't even scored a single point.

Curiously, the whites of his eyes began to tint pink. As the match dragged on, the color darkened to red, and his shots became faster, more powerful, more accurate. More often than not, the ball aimed towards Ryoka's face. However, keeping true to her word, with her incredibly keen eye, she was able to quickly predict the ball, out-maneuver its path, and strike back.

Ryoko narrowed her eyes, calm, calculating, as she sipped at her soda beverage. "What is he doing?"

"That," Inui began, his notebook and pen in his hands as he scribbled about, "is Kirihara's Bloodshot Mode. He enters this state when he is injured, under pressure, or angered during match. His power, speed, and accuracy increases."

"Correct."

A voice commented as footsteps approached the group, and Ryoko saw that the Rikkaidai Regulars had joined them. Yanagi, who had spoken before, turned to his friend. "However, that is not all. All the attributes that you've mentioned before can increase from about a mere fifteen percent to as dramatic as forty percent – depending on the level of stress or anger he is feeling, of course. He has a tendency to aim for his opponents' bodies, becoming a lot more aggressive."

Most of the Regulars remained silent, remembering the damages the Second-Year Ace had caused before. Ryoko listened to the information calmly, outwardly unperturbed by the slightly disturbing information.

It was roughly an hour before Ryoko had scored once again, making the score 4-0 with herself in the lead. This was one of the longest matches a Rikkaidai Regular had in a while, and one could tell it was starting to take a toll on the sophomore.

As the two switched sides and it was once again the twin's turn to serve, she smirked. "Mada mada dane!"

And then she did the one thing that shocked everyone out of their hair.

She switched hands.

"_NITOURYUU!"_

Serving with double the power and accuracy as her right hand, Ryoka quickly ended the game in ten minutes, the final score being 6-0. With a final smirk and a short handshake, Ryoka quickly walked off, meeting up with her sister halfway to grab the opened can and chugging the rest of it, much to Ryoko's annoyance.

With a sudden movement, the younger twin turned to a gaping Momoshiro. Smirking smugly, she stated, "And _that_ is why you can't beat me."

* * *

**A/N: **…hi.

…

HEY GUYS I'M' BACK. :D /shot.

Okay, so, the only reason I'm updating is because I felt like I owed you guys one and I'm on SUMMER BREAK OH YEAH! Haha, so… yeah. I won't say expect faster updates, because every time I do, I end up dragging it out further.

And I have little to no inspiration for this fic. :C I WANT TO GIVE UP SO BAD.

So yeah. Review? Reviews make me happy and motivate me to write.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me so far; hopefully only a few of you deserted me. ;~;

AU REVOIR! TILL NEXT TIME!

P.S. Check out my poll!

Oh, and please read the newest chapter of _Perfectly Imperfect_ that may or may not be posted soon… I still have to finish it, hehe.

Thanks guys… Lots of love.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **HOLY CRAP DID I JUST UPDATE. nope. Read on.

_**THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH IF YOU REVIEWED. I LOVE YOU ALL.**_

* * *

**Chapter Seven – So Now What.**

There were mixed responses from the Regulars. Most of the teenagers, while reluctantly impressed with the two girls' power, frowned upon the thought of two girls joining in with their training. Of course, there were others who were indifferent and just didn't care, and there were a few who didn't mind and were happily curious or excited that the girls were joining in.

Regardless of their feelings, with the approval of the three senseis, the final decision was made; and so, the girls would partake in the program the following week. Ryoko and Ryoka themselves had their curiosity piqued; after all, they had dropped the game due to a lack of challenging opponents. While the twins had indeed throttled the two boys, they _did_ make them work for it, and there were bound to be stronger opponents.

However, what the tennis Regulars and the twins didn't know is that the two girls were to participate in the training in a different way…

Ryuuzaki smirked, "Boys, meet your other two coaches."

"Huh?" The twins blinked owlishly.

"…" The guys were shocked. "WHAT!"

* * *

**A/N: **And that's it. Why? Because _**Echizen Twins**_** will now be discontinued.** Again.

NOW BEFORE ANY OF YOU WRITE ME ANGRY REVIEWS/MESSAGES ABOUT HOW I WASTED YOUR LIFE, listen.

Yes, Echizen Twins will be discontinued, but for good reason. Reading over some stuff, I realized I was going nowhere. There was no plot: no reason for why the twins quit tennis, no reason for why the twins act the way they do, no reason for anything really, which means that there would be no character development. So what, was I just going to slap down some romance and everything would then make sense?

The answer is no.

_So, with that being said…_

Echizen Twins will be revamped. New everything.

New main characters, new love interests, new plot.

And I really want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for reading and reviewing and favoriting this story. This story has been through a lot, and I know that you guys felt more disappointment with this story than enjoyment. But I do really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart that all of you mean so much to me, and that this story really wouldn't have been as successful without you guys.

And for this reason, I feel it's necessary to redo Echizen Twins, stop making empty promises, and write a story that you guys will definitely enjoy.

Thank you for your time and patience, and I really hope that you'll stick around for the new story.

My wireless connection is having some issues right now, and I'm on break from SAT school, but I firmly believe that I will get the first chapter of the new story out in a few days.

I'm so, so very sorry, and thanks again for all your support.

~The Authoress of _Echizen Twins_


	9. New Story Update

New Story Preview

**A/N:** I'm really confused as to why people continued to add Echizen Twins to their story favorites and alerts when I'm discontinuing it.

Though, after a few people PMed me to update ET once I post the new story, I figured maybe other people were looking for some sort of notice?

Anyway, to work around the "No Author Notes Only posts allowed" rule, I decided to add a ***cough*** verysmall ***cough*** preview of the new story.

* * *

"When is Ruhi coming?"

"Dear, you know that she's in Europe for another 7 days."

Ryoko grumbled to herself. "…It'd be a lot easier if we were going to school together."

Rinko paused. "About that…" She sighed. "Ruhi isn't going to Seishun High. She's been accepted to Hyoutei on a full scholarship."

* * *

**A/N:** I hope that your interest has been piqued and that you'll read the rest on my profile! Don't forget to favorite/review~ Thanks so much!


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